Hey Super Animals, we’re gearing up for the home stretch on Super Animal World’s development, and we’re excited to finally bring back something many of you have asked for: Past Season Starter Packs!
They’ll be available in two waves, giving both new and longtime players another chance to collect them as we head toward release later this year. We’ve also made big progress on the expansion this month, so we can’t wait to share what the team has been working on.
In this edition of the Mooseletter:
- Starter Packs Return
- Super Animal World Progress
- Pixile AMA
- Super Fanart Showcase
Starter Pack Reruns
Over the next six weeks, past Starter Packs are making their return in two limited-time waves. We’ve gotten so many requests for this, and as we mentioned in July’s Mooseletter, we’ve been looking for the right way to do it.
Here’s the plan:
- Seasons 5–9 are available first, from today to Tuesday, September 16th
- Seasons 0–4 follow, from Tuesday, September 16th to Tuesday, October 7th
- Each pack costs $7.99 USD, or you can grab them in bundles
You can pick up the full wave 1 bundle or any of the individual Starter Packs here:
https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/57887/Super_Animal_Royale__Starter_Pack_Bundle_Seasons_59/
Why we’re bringing them back
You’ve been asking for Starter Packs to return for a long time, and we’ve wanted to find a way that felt fair. We’ve never been fans of FOMO practices that lock content away forever, which is why holiday event items cycle back each year, and past Animal Passes are always available in The Archive. Leaving Starter Packs in the vault would go against that philosophy.
How pricing works
Just like with Animal Passes, which go from 550 to 750 SAW Tickets once their season ends, we wanted there to be a small reward for supporters who purchase Starter Packs during their season. That's why we’ve priced reruns at $7.99 USD, while future Starter Packs will continue to debut at $4.99 USD during their season.
We’ve also been considering other ways to bring back past packs in the future, such as bundles in the SAW Shop, and we would love to hear what you think of that idea compared to this DLC rerun format.
After the rerun period
When these waves wrap up, the packs will head back into the vault, but not for good. We want to establish a long-term way to bring them back more regularly, but we're still deciding what will work best. For now, our focus is on finishing the core features of Super Animal World!
Thank you so much for supporting us along the way, whether by picking up a Starter Pack or simply playing the game and sharing it with friends. It all helps sustain the game today and gives us the opportunity to grow even bigger through ambitious projects like Super Animal World.
An Update on Super Animal World
Our last progress update was only a few short weeks ago, but the team has been working hard and made great strides this month! Let’s dive right into our latest very scientific progress bars:
The entire UI in Super Animal Royale is getting a facelift in Super Animal World, and this month we finished upgrading nearly every piece of it across the game. The project has been a massive undertaking, but we’re really proud of how it’s shaping up and excited to be shifting into polishing and fine-tuning the new designs.
On the content side, we’re wrapping up the conclusion of the main storyline this week and filling in the last side quests. Our new friend features are also up and running, which has been exciting to see in action as everything locks into place. We can’t wait to show you how it all works!
Next month we’ll be taking another big step by beginning localization as we head into the home stretch of production. Alongside localization, we’ll also be spending September testing and polishing all of the expansion’s new systems, making sure everything feels seamless when it launches.
Ask us Anything!
Every month, we put out a call for questions on Pixile’s Twitter and Bluesky and answer them right here in the Mooseletter!
If you're curious for more, you can browse past Q&As:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/843380/view/498328557405077864
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/843380/view/498325386812195997
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/843380/view/498322850680145537
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/843380/view/498320313411437016
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/843380/view/498317142563750061
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/843380/view/506195274633314529
Each one covers a wide range of questions, and you might just find something you've been wondering about too.
Make sure to follow us so you don’t miss the call next month, and as always, feel free to also share your feedback in the SAR Discord or start a discussion right here on Steam. :)
Question: The Idea of SAR
From: MooseDaFox45
How was Animal Royale pitched? Like what were some of the inspirations to stand out from other battle royale games and why animals? Hope that makes sense
The project began when Clogg and I (Michael) were having a lot of fun playing H1Z1 Battle Royale and started wondering how well the genre could work from a top-down perspective. As fans of battle royales, we had plenty of opinions about what we liked and didn’t like, and we wanted to create our own take that streamlined the genre and made it more accessible without losing what made it so compelling. We’ve always loved designing multiplayer games that both hardcore and casual players can enjoy, so friends who don’t usually like the same games have something they can play together.
On the art side, I’ve always loved animals and colorful, minimalist aesthetics. A few years before SAR I actually prototyped a game about exploring a forest as a bear in a similar style. When I began working on the assets for SAR’s prototype, I wanted to revisit that look, but with the juxtaposition of deadly weapons contrasted against adorable animals that made us laugh. None of my prototype art is still in the game, but it established the direction we wanted to take the game in. We also drew from loose influences like Conker’s Bad Fur Day and Happy Tree Friends, but we didn’t want to go nearly as mature. From there we started imagining the backstory of a world where genetically modified animals fought to the death, and it was hilarious to explore how such a place might actually exist and come to be.
We pulled inspiration from all over, from Jurassic Park to Pokémon, The Hunger Games, and the film Battle Royale. When Ruben joined the project very early on, he helped expand those rough ideas into a full backstory, and turned them into a detailed lore bible. That gave the whole team a foundation to build on, so every new region and character would fit consistently into this absurd yet strangely believable world.
Question: Animal Pass Themes
From: Cinovel
What sorts of factors have inspired the different themes of Animal Passes? I've always been curious about the creative process behind everything.
Animal Pass themes often grow out of whatever the big content of that update is. For example, the “Sense of Scale” pass introduced lizards and the Giant Star-nosed Mole, Twinkle, while the “Dragon’s Loot Pass” synced up with the debut of Super Dragons. That is not always how it works, though. Sometimes the theme idea comes first and ends up inspiring content, or we sometimes use a pass to explore a fun aesthetic or idea that feels right for the season.
Question: Live-Service Battle Royale
From: P&MFieryFlakes
Just curious. Why did you decide to make a live service battle royale game for Super Animal Royale?
When we first launched SAR it was a paid game, but we always knew a battle royale would need to be free-to-play to reach enough players. For a small indie studio, that was especially true because keeping 64-player matches full would only work if the game was easy for anyone to jump into. That’s why even at launch we included the “Super Free Edition” demo, a simpler version of what eventually grew into the full free-to-play live service game.
We also understand why some players are cautious about live service games, and we share many of those hesitations ourselves. The model has had its rough spots across the industry, but when done right it can be one of the best ways to support a multiplayer game because it lowers the barrier to entry for friends to play together. Our approach has been to try to improve the model and make it as player friendly as possible, with things like Animal Passes that never expire. Our hope is that if we can find the right balance, our designs can not only sustain our team and keep the game growing, but also show that healthier approaches to live service can work.
Looking back, making SAR a live service was definitely the right call. It has let us keep learning and improving, and it has helped us foster an incredible community that has guided the game in directions we never could have imagined at launch.
Question: In-game Friends & Chat
From: Odyssey
Will we have an in-game friends and chat system for all platforms so players can socialize much easier?
Yep, there will be an in-game friends system, and we’re aiming to support it across all platforms! We’re also working on cross-platform chat so players can connect more easily, but some social features may roll out gradually across updates as we work through the quirks of each platform during porting.
We’re holding off on showing how it all works until the new UI is ready to share, but it’s shaping up nicely and we’ll be talking more about it before Super Animal World launches later this year.
Super Fanart Showcase
We have another round of incredible fanart from the community to share! Thanks to all of you who keep filling our feeds with so much creativity every month.
Art by NekoSan
Art by I Love BTS
Art by Kom JJi
Art by Squirrelhunterz
Art by Foxander
If you’re posting your fanart on social media, use the hashtag #superanimalroyale or tag us in it! You can also share fanart in our Discord server, where we have channels just for fan creations and art discussion.
We’re getting close to sharing more exciting news about Super Animal World, and we can’t wait. In the meantime, if there’s something specific you’d like us to cover in the next Mooseletter, let us know!
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See you on the island, Super Animals!
- Michael, Logan, & the Community team